thin wire
by cedricsowner
Summary: Silly one-shot about Winston in his early days as a cop.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.**

"Any fool knows that you disconnect timer and detonator by cutting the wire that links them. What separates pros from amateurs is the choice of the correct wire. To determine which wire to cut you have to…"

Leda Jackson stopped in mid-sentence, tilted her head and fixed her gaze on the young officer in the last row to the right.

"This might very well save your life one day, so I suggest you better pay attention", she reprimanded him.

He wasn't terribly impressed. On the contrary – his demeanor was self-assured bordering on provocative. This guy had an attitude. "I honestly don't see why we're wasting our time on this theoretical BS. I'm a patrol cop – I deal with drunks, junkies, prostitutes, pickpockets, shoplifters… none of them is likely to carry a ticking time bomb around. And should there ever be an exception from that rule we call YOU. No fooling around with "red wire" or "blue wire" – we simply call in the cavalry."

Normally this kind of answer would have led to immediate expulsion from the seminar, but there was something about this young man she couldn't quite pinpoint. He wasn't plain rude. The way he spoke indicated a certain strength of mind… something rare to find these days.

"What's your name?", she asked.

"Officer Laverne Winston."

Now _that_ name rang a bell. The Summerson incident! The disciplinary procedure…

At the mentioning of his name the others snickered, and not because it was a girl's name. They had surely heard about the procedure and the judgment the board had agreed upon this morning. Leda didn't snicker.

"Some day your whole world might come down to a thin wire."

He locked eyes with her, not a trace of insecurity in his gaze. No small feat, considering the storm of indignation his unveiled disobedience had caused _and _taking into account that she was a renowned bomb expert twenty years his senior while he was a rookie on the force with a brand-new negative entry in his personal file. "This isn't someone to cave in easily", she thought.

"Yeah, I can clearly see myself participating in some cloak-and-dagger rescue operation, trying desperately to defuse a bomb in order to safe dozens of innocent lives", he said sarcastically, a thin smile appearing on his grim face. "What comes next, a hostage-taking or maybe a burning airplane with me fighting the bad guy while flames threaten to cause a crash? Heavy stuff like that is for the big boys, the detectives, the sergeants, the lieutenants..." She furrowed her brow. He didn't seem to see himself ever rising that high. Not anymore. Had she mistaken for willpower what in truth was defiance and disillusion?

Leda sighed. Male self-pity was such a turnoff. Nevertheless she found her gaze lingering on his muscular shoulders and chest. If he didn't watch his diet he would grow huge one day, but at the moment he was in top shape. Pity the seminar's participants weren't required to wear their uniforms while attending… She continued the lesson without addressing his behavior any further but afterwards, she called him over.

"Feeling sorry for yourself doesn't suit you", she told him. "You did what you felt was right. Thanks to you the Summerson boy can turn over a new leaf now. The DA's plans would have destroyed him." He didn't respond and Leda had to restrain herself from ordering him to leave immediately, just so she could take a good look at his retreating backside. "Maybe you should see it in terms of karma. Who knows, one day you might want to break free and then someone will be there for you and help you to start all over again."

"A chance to change my life?", he asked and there was this unabashed smile again. "Don't worry, I'm not planning to wallow in self-pity. I wasn't willing to take crap from some self-centered asshole of a DA and apparently personal file entries are the price." His smile changed and became bolder while his voice, already a low baritone, became deeper. "Me not paying attention to what you were saying had other reasons." Slowly, very slowly he let his gaze wander down her slender body.

Leda took a deep breath. "In this case, Officer Winston, I suggest an hour of detention to catch up on what you didn't learn today." She closed the conference room's door and made sure it was properly locked.

… … … …

"Calm down, dude", Guerrero told Winston over the phone. "You'll manage. Just concentrate. You used to be a cop. Aren't cops obliged to attend seminars on bomb defusing?"


End file.
